"This car is absolutely phenomenal. It has character like no other new car I've driven. It is a handful, supernaturally fast, tactile, dangerous, beautiful, and yet still practical. It is without doubt the best performance hatchback available today." -Adam Jefferson, CarEnthusiast.com

"...the melodic howl that fills the cabin...is as good as it gets this side of Italy's other houses of royalty - Ferrari and Lamborghini."-Top Gear

Here's my new 147 GTA.

This is the new Alfa Romeo 147 GTA. It's one of the fastest stock Alfas ever made and can hit 152.9 mph.

I just got it on 14 November, 2003. There are only a few others in Singapore - about half a dozen. I've never seen another on the road before though.

Isn't the engine beautiful?

The V6 puts out 250 hp (184 kw) and 300 nm of torque. It's naturally aspirated, has 24 valves and 6 speeds.

What do you think of the seat colours? Some people don't like that tan but I sure do.

It is very comfortable (wrap-around two-tone leather Momo seats) both in the front and the back. Even though it's a hatchback, the headroom in the back is good for a 6-footer.

Here's a shot of the stock Bose speakers up front.

The stereo is just ok. It has a Blaupunkt head unit with built-in equalizer powering 8 Bose speakers. It has steering wheel stereo controls, which is cool. The stereo recognises the station name and displays it on both the headunit and the driver's display area between the tach and speedo (RDS - Radio Data System). It also displays the CD name.

Another nice thing about the system is that the volume automatically increases as the RPMs get higher, once you reach maybe 4,000. So weather I'm listening to E-40, Dire Straits or public radio, I can still hear it over the roar of the car.

I like how the red Brembo brakes match the car.

This car has the 17" 'dial' wheels (5-hole, reminiscent of the old Gambler wheels, but with bigger holes) on sticky Bridgestone S-O2 45 series 215s. I've tried to slide it around corners, but with the FWD (which I don't particularly like) and VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) it seems impossible. Next time I'll try it without the VDC on.

[3 days later; 17 Nov.: I finally got the back end to slide. I took a 90-degree bend at 110 kmh (70 mph) and the back lost it. I thought I was going to hit the guard rail so coming out of the corner I floored it and pulled away. So it does slide under extreme conditions.]

To stop the 1360kg mass flying at speeds up to 250 kph it uses 4 self-ventilated Brembos on 305mm discs with ABS.

The two front wheels bear all the responsibilities being FWD. How many cars have 250 hp going to the front? And these wheels still have to steer and stop the car!

The turning radius, however, is terrible at 12.1 metres.

When these pipes rumble the car sounds like a motorboat.

When I test drove it it blew me away. It's terribly fast; I can't wait to go to Malaysia in it and put it to the test. (Singapore's just a small island).

Yep, those pedals are stock.

The pedals are aluminum with rubber dots on them which give great grip. But I find the gas and brake are too close to each other for normal driving. Of course that's great when you're racing, though!

The ass.

The car is short, and ends just after the back axle. This is good because while the boot (trunk) is small, the car has a huge turning radius, so if it were any longer it would be hard to do U turns and navigate Singapore's cramped parking lots.

Just part of the design.

The little vent on the sides is just for looks, and although I hate extra crap add-ons, it's stock and looks good.

By the way, it's terrifyingly fast. I almost rear-ended a Hyundai within the first 15 minutes of owning it. I'm not sure how long I'll last...